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Robots are boring, as anybody who spent Christmas with one knows. Happily, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, are working on it. They’ve created “Marion LeFleur”, a “male” currently on trial as a receptionist and with a line in waspish conversation, including “and what’s up with that hair?” and “don’t you think he has shifty eyes?” Professor Reid Simmons thinks his distinctly campbot creations (an earlier model liked Barbra Streisand music) are the future for better robot-human relations. Expect civil unions.

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